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NaPoWriMo Prompt: Poetry & Adolescence
Feeling some angst? Writing a poem might help.
Angsty adolescents have written poetry for centuries. It’s a turbulent time of life when we’re wrestling with identity, independence, and desire. No wonder so many young people turn to poetry to try to sort out their feelings and make sense of their place in the world.
Adolescence is a liminal state, on the threshold between childhood and adulthood. This is the perfect place for creativity. If you’re no longer an adolescent, try mining your memories of that time in your life. What was important to you? What barriers did you face? What did you long for. You might find yourself writing a poem.
Old people like me can sometimes be dismissive of kids’ creative efforts. It’s good for us to remember that some of the classic poems about adolescence were written by poets who were quite young themselves. Scroll down for some links.
If you’re a young poet now (either in age or in your writing career), here’s some advice: Keep everything you write. Don’t delete or discard anything. Some of it will probably embarrass you if you look back on it from a more mature perspective, but everything you write is precious.
When you are first discovering poetry, your approach to it is fresh. It can be like the thrill of the first time skydiving or the…
